Undermine

Undermine

Mu Sichen did not actually believe what the broadcast said, nor did he think Qin Zhou was some great benefactor. He had even less intention of relying on Qin Zhou.

From the moment he felt Qin Zhou's gaze, he had understood how terrifying this world was, and how powerful Qin Zhou was.

Just saying his name once had been enough for Qin Zhou's gaze to cross time and space and fall on him. Even if Qin Zhou had once been human, once a person possessed power that immense, their state of mind and way of thinking would inevitably change.

People could become unrecognizable after obtaining wealth far beyond anything they had imagined, never mind an ability powerful enough to place them above others.

He played the radio for the Follower not because he desperately hoped Qin Zhou would help him, but because, since some mysterious power was watching him anyway, instead of spending all day worrying about what that power might do to him, he might as well use it to do something first.

After all, he had been a frugal child from a young age, and he was very good at making use of waste.

As soon as the radio sounded, the Follower immediately began struggling. He shouted furiously, "Fallen, devil! You should be burned to death under the Great Being's gaze, Fallen!"

Mu Sichen raised the pickaxe and struck the Follower on the head with it. Followers were much stronger than ordinary people. It was only a pickaxe. It would not kill him.

After taking the blow, the few points left in the Follower's HP bar dropped by another half.

He behaved a little better after that.

As the broadcast played over and over, the Follower gradually quieted down.

At this point, Mu Sichen said, "Don't give up. Don't let yourself be brainwashed so easily by a Fallen's rhetoric. You have to hold fast to your faith in the Great Being."

The Follower: "..."

What little brain the Follower had left could no longer understand what Mu Sichen was trying to do.

Mu Sichen continued encouraging him. "No matter what, I'm a kindhearted person. To help you fight the harm caused by the Fallen, how about this: I'll ask a few questions about the Great Being. Use them to recall the Great Being's glorious deeds. Say them out loud and resist the Fallen's rhetoric."

The Follower: "..."

Mu Sichen asked, "When your Great Being opens its eyes, it is 'Daylight,' and when it closes them, it is 'Night.' When will 'Night' arrive, and how long will it last?"

The Follower refused to cooperate. He turned his face away and said stubbornly, "The Great Being becomes weak during 'Night.' I won't tell you the Great Being's weakness!"

He had told Mu Sichen his Great Being's weakness right away. It seemed these Followers did not have very impressive brains.

"Then let's ask it a different way. What time is 'Daylight,' and how long does 'Daylight' last?" Mu Sichen asked. "That is the time when your Great Being is powerful, so it doesn't count as leaking a secret, right?"

Under the radio's words, the Follower's mind gradually grew hazy. Combined with the fact that his IQ was not high to begin with, he finally said slowly, "There are 24 hours in a day. The Great Being opens its eyes between 20:00 and 8:00."

Mu Sichen was somewhat surprised. He had thought the Great Being would remain awake for a very long time, so long that it would only close its eyes for one or two hours a day. He had not expected it to be split half and half. It seemed this Great Being's rule over the Town of the Eye was not especially firm.

This world also used a 24-hour clock, and its spoken and written language was Chinese. He had no idea whether this was a parallel world to reality, or decades or centuries in the future.

"What time is it now? Is it 'Daylight' or 'Night'?" Mu Sichen asked.

"Seven-thirty. 'Daylight' will end in half an hour," the Follower answered.

Mu Sichen glanced at his watch. His watch also happened to read seven-thirty.

When he finished installing the game pod, it had been around four in the afternoon. He had spent more than three hours inside the game. If time flowed at the same speed, then it was also seven-thirty in reality.

Only day and night were inverted. In the Follower's eyes, it was currently seven-thirty in the morning.

"During 'Night,' the Great Being closes its eyes. At that time, you..." Mu Sichen had originally wanted to ask what they did, but then he suddenly thought of the Follower's stubborn personality and changed the way he asked. "How do you protect the Great Being? Surely you don't neglect your duties and slack off while the Great Being's eyes are closed?"

"Of course not!" The Follower became a little agitated and struggled in the chair. "One hour before 'Night' arrives, we order the town residents to recite the Great Being's deeds so that they will feel grateful to the Great Being. Once 8:00 arrives, only the town residents who recited the deeds will be permitted to leave their rooms for activity. We will manage and teach them under the honored Apostle's leadership, and find the Fallen hiding among the town residents."

"It's actually quite orderly," Mu Sichen said.

Before "Night" arrived, the Followers forced the town residents to recite, achieving a brainwashing effect. Town residents willing to recite would be contaminated to a certain extent, and the Followers allowed those contaminated town residents to move freely. The Fallen should have some ability to resist contamination, so the Followers also needed to distinguish which town residents were Fallen.

During "Night," security was even tighter than during "Daylight," but that was precisely proof that the Great Being weakened during "Night." It was also a good time to act.

The diary owner must have refused to recite the deeds, which was why he had remained locked in his room, unable to leave. Without food, he had gone mad.

But following this line of reasoning brought up a new problem.

If the diary owner had already been contaminated and become a Follower, why would another Follower still come brainwash him?

"You come here every day. Have I never once recited the deeds, and never once left the room?" Mu Sichen asked.

"Yes," the Follower said.

"Can town residents leave their rooms on their own?" Mu Sichen asked.

"During 'Daylight,' they can. Those bathed in the Great Being's gaze are incomparably happy people. We allow anyone to accept the Great Being's boon, even Fallen. During 'Night,' we lock the doors. Only those willing to believe in the Great Being's deeds may go out," the Follower answered.

Clearly, the diary's warning to beware of every gaze referred to the Great Being's gaze during "Daylight." It seemed that during "Daylight," as long as someone walked out of their room or opened the curtains, they would be contaminated by the Great Being.

But if everything the Follower said was true, then where exactly had the diary owner gone?

The Followers did not know that the diary owner had already been contaminated. They had also never opened the door during "Night," and they had continued coming as usual to brainwash him and deliver food, as if they knew nothing at all about the diary owner's situation.

Mu Sichen glanced at the radio and the flashlight, then gave a cold laugh.

The people from Xiangping Town could send the radio and flashlight in, which meant they had another way to enter this room. Their purpose was to prevent the diary owner from being contaminated by the Great Being. Once they discovered that the diary owner had already gone mad, how would they treat him?

Mu Sichen could already draw a conclusion. The mad diary owner had most likely been eliminated by the so-called "Fallen."

Just as he had guessed, Qin Zhou might not be a good person either.

By now, the Follower was no longer struggling much. Under the broadcast's loop, he gradually became obedient.

"One more question. Do you know what the "Pillar" is?" Mu Sichen asked.

The System had told him to search for the "Pillar." It had to be something very important.

"What's that?" the Follower asked back.

Mu Sichen had not expected a low-level Follower to know any information about the "Pillar" in the first place. It seemed he would have to find an Apostle and ask.

Most of the questions he wanted to ask had been answered. Mu Sichen now had a basic impression of this world. Once "Night" arrived, he would be able to leave the room and explore the town.

Aside from the food, the Follower had also carried a cloak covered in painted eyes. According to the Follower, if a town resident was willing to accept brainwashing, they would be issued a cloak. If the town resident walked through town wearing the cloak, they would not be attacked.

The cloak was large, large enough to even hide the pickaxe. But Mu Sichen had a feeling that once he put on the cloak, something bad would happen.

But without the cloak, he would be attacked.

Mu Sichen hesitated.

At this moment, the Follower, who had already become obedient, murmured, "Xiangping Town... safe... believe... Qin Zhou..."

And when the Follower said Qin Zhou's name, Mu Sichen once again felt that gaze. This time, the gaze also carried a hint of puzzlement.

Mu Sichen: "..."

Why was Qin Zhou looking at him? There was a Town of the Eye Follower right here who had already been brainwashed by the broadcast. Look at your newly added Follower!

Besides, this Follower was way too easy to brainwash, wasn't he? Wasn't he supposed to be a staunch supporter of the Great Being? There was no way he should change faith this quickly, right?

Mu Sichen was not sure whether Qin Zhou or the Great Being was stronger, but this was the Town of the Eye, after all. Within the Great Being's territory, the broadcast's power was very weak.

When he had been reading earlier, Mu Sichen had relied on both the broadcast and his own willpower to maintain his Rationality. The broadcast alone did not have that much power.

Mu Sichen looked at the Follower, and a thought suddenly occurred to him. Could the Follower have changed so easily because Mu Sichen had injured him first?

Just as he thought this, a faint light shone from the wound on the back of the Follower's head. There seemed to be something inside the light.

Mu Sichen reached out and removed the thing. After the light faded, he saw that it was a temporary tattoo sticker.

[Self Sticker: A derivative of the "Undermine" skill. Whenever the player activates the "Undermine" skill, one Self Sticker will appear. Self Stickers can be used on anyone, including but not limited to the player, town residents, Fallen, Followers, Apostles, Great Beings, and so on. After a Self Sticker is used, it can help the user stay clear-headed. Self Stickers are tied to the player's power. The stronger the player, the longer a Self Sticker will last. When the player reaches god-class, Self Stickers will never disappear.]

"When did I use a skill?" Mu Sichen asked in confusion.

He looked at the Follower, who had already begun chanting "Qin Zhou," and understood.

"Undermine" was the pickaxe's skill. After the Follower was injured by his blow, the skill had already activated. It was just that his current MP bar was not enough to run the skill, so the skill had not deducted his special energy. Instead, it had used the broadcast's power.

He had undermined the Great Being's foundation, but he had not undermined it toward his own side. He had undermined it for Qin Zhou.

No wonder Qin Zhou had looked at him again just now.

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Author's Note:

Qin Zhou: I saw someone who said he wouldn't rely on my power while constantly calling on me.

Qin Zhou: This person is so annoying.

Qin Zhou: This person gave me a Follower!

Mu Sichen (self-reliant): Although I borrowed your power, I've already paid you back with a Follower. We're even.

Qin Zhou: So strange. One more look.